For the first time, an artificial intelligence (A.I.) has been named to a company's board of directors. The A.I. in question is called VITAL, and venture capital firm Deep Knowledge Ventures has made it an equal member of the board for its ability to pick up on market trends that are "not immediately obvious to humans."

For the last couple years, we've seen computer programs on Wall Street enact high-frequency and algorithmic trading, basically generating profits out of thin air for impossibly short periods of time. Since none of those programs have been named equal members of a board of directors, VITAL must be doing something even more impressive. If Deep Knowledge Ventures is to be believed, it certainly does, both automating due diligence for the company and using "fuzzy logic" to predict success.